UK defence secretary says few will grieve Iran’s Khamenei after reported death

LONDON, March 1 — UK Defence Secretary John Healey today stated that “few people will mourn” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, marking the British government’s first public comment on the Iranian supreme leader’s death in US-Israeli strikes.

Healey told Sky News that “Iran and the regime he has led for so long represent a source of evil, killing their own citizens and sponsoring terror abroad, including in countries like Britain.”

He warned that “the concern now is that the regime may lash out in an increasingly indiscriminate and widespread manner, raising fears that civilians, not just military targets, could be at risk.”

Speaking to the BBC, Healey emphasized that British forces were engaged solely in “defensive” operations, with aircraft operating from Qatar and Britain’s base in Cyprus. He did not comment on reports that London had denied the US access to British bases for strikes on Iran and refrained from discussing the legality of the US-Israeli actions.

“It is for the US to explain the legal basis for the action,” he said.

“Britain was not involved in the strikes on Iran. However, we share the goal of all regional allies and the US that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon.”

Healey highlighted that around 300 UK personnel were “within several hundred yards” of drones and missiles Iran fired at a US base in Bahrain, while two ballistic missiles were “targeted in the direction of Cyprus” on Saturday.

“This shows how our bases, personnel, both military and civilian, are at risk from a regime conducting increasingly indiscriminate and widespread attacks,” he said. — AFP